Keyboard for musical instruments



Feb. 8, 1955 s. KocH ET AL 2,701,498

KEYBOARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 2l, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 8, 1955 s. KOCH ET AL 2,701,498

KEYBOARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 21, 1949 '2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Fig.9

59 Fig.1o. i

Fig. 17.

{i} Awww/wi C @WM United States Patent O '2,701,498 KEYnoARD Fon MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Siegfried Koch and Friedrich Feilhaber, Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany Application December 21, 1949, Serial No. 134,164

6 Cl'amS. (Cl. 84423) All musical instruments known up to now show at least one of the following fundamental drawbacks independently of the quality of the sound:

l. The instruments are musically defective as:

a. Certain notes are missing as f. i. on the simple mouth organs and flutes,

b. Not every note may be produced in an equal and easy manner, also if existing, so that f. i. a melody cannot easily be played in all keys,

c. Chords for two or several voices of any kind are either impossible at all or may only be produced with difficulties.

2. The instruments require a special method of use, supposing much exercising so f. i. the wind technics of all wind instruments, the technics of playing stringed instruments and so on.

3. instruments which as the pianoforte are the highest developed instruments and do not show at all the draw backs la and lc and the drawbacks lb 'and 2 only under certain conditions, require a too highly technical employment and therefore are too spacious and too expensive.

The invention relates to instruments not showing the drawbacks l to 3. These instruments must be:

l. Keyed instruments in which each note is emitted the key or button of which is touched (clearing away the drawbacks la and lc) and which have an exact chromatic arrangement (Janko-principle) so that the lingering is uniform in all keys (clearing away the drawback 2. Either pure keyed instruments (like a pianoforte) or keyed instruments having a very simple additional technic f. i. wind technic,

3. 'Very small and cheap compared with a pianoforte (also the Janko-pianoforte).

Vl-lereby, although a certain technical employment is made with respect to the instrument, 'the Working is Aso simplified that the greater number of musical persons are enabled to play music with a small waste of time and small expenses. The principle of division of labour is used. As the human being is symmetrically shaped and has two hands an easy working can only be obtained by providing a natural division of labour lof both hands in such a manner that both hands equally and uniformly participate in touching the instrument. It means` that, if f. i. certain ascending sounds and certain intervals are connected with a certain succession 'of lingers, second, third, fourth and fifth finger of the right hand 'corresponding to a touch, the same intervals and also with ascending sounds are produced with an equal succession of fingers of the left hand. Vice versa, ifby the succession of fingers, second, third, fourth and fifth fingercertain sound intervals are given with decreasing pitch of notes, the same sound intervals must also be obtained with des sing pitch of notes with an equalsuccession of fingers ot the left hand. The keynote or the pitch may be the same but need riot be, The chief things are the same intervals and the correct succession of sounds with an equal lingering of the right hand and the left hand.

Therefore a certain equal touch of the right hand and the left hand corresponds to each lsound interval with an equal succession of sounds. In contradistin'c'tion thereto a certain touch of the right hand and the left hand corresponds, it is true, to each sound interval also with the lanko-pianoforte but the succession of sounds is in the reverse order (changing of high and deep) and thereby the fingering'of the two hands is a different one.

With the standard pianoforte not even one touch of one ICC hand corresponds to each sound interval but a plurality of touches so that here not only the right hand and the left hand have different lingering in consequence of the not existing uniformity of operation of the two hands, but also each hand itself has a different lingering corresponding to the chosen key.

Therefore the characteristic feature of the present invention is to attain that both hands uniformly and equally participate in touching by an ingenious position of the exactly chromatically arranged key-board or key-boards relatively to the player and by a natural division of labour of the right hand and the left hand, whereby preferably an equal lingering of the right hand and the left hand results essentially simplifying the operation of the instrument.

Some 'embodiments of the invention may be described in the following and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of example.

Fig. l shows a key-board consisting of two Jankokey-boards,

Fig. 2 is a four-rowed Janko key-boards,

Fig. 3 is a plan of a popular instrument,

Fig. 4 shows a section through an embodiment of the instrument illustrated in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is another embodiment partially in a section,

Fig. 6 is a vertical section according to the line VII-VII of Fig. 5,.

Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment with air controlling means arranged before the reeds,

Fig. 8 shows an embodiment with air controlling means arranged behind the reeds but with separated chambers for the suction reeds and pressure reeds and separated suction and pressure channel,

Fig. 9 shows an embodiment having intermediate air chambers,

Fig. l0 is a section through the sound pusher,

Fig. ll illustrates the principle of a springy supporting of the key pusher, and l Fig. l2 illustrates the principle of using the invention with a Trautonium- Fig. l shows a key-board consisting of two six-rowed Janko key-boards 1, 2 including the angle cz and being so arranged that the said angle a is bisected by the symmetry plane of the player 4 actuating the key-board. The

f technic corresponds to that of the Janko pianoforte (i. e.

actuation by the thumb and all lingers) with the sole difference that the fingering of the right hand is also applicable to the left hand. The deepest sounds are arranged in the middle at 5 next to ythe face 6, the highest on the right handside at 7 and at the left hand side at 8. The range is limited to 31/2 to 5 octavos for the reason of an easy actuation, but may be adjusted to two octavos deeper by two bass registers, the one being arranged on the right hand side and the other on the left hand side, so that the entire compass may be brought to that of the standard pianoforte. Thereby the pianist has the possibility to produce tonalities surpassing the bounds of the pianoforte.

Fig. 2 shows a key-board absolutely created for a popular instrument in consequence of its simplicity.v Generally it consists of a four-rowed Janko key-board with push buttons, which however is turned relative to the standard position, so that the symmetry plane 9 of the instrument coincides with the symmetry plane of the player l0 actuating the instrument. Thereby the possibility happens to actuate the key-board from both sides, i. e. with the hands if., l2 and their fingers from the right hand side and the left hand side, the thumbs serving essentially only for holding, the instrument. The deepest sounds 13 are nearest to the face, the arrangement is exactly chromatic and each sound may be produced by two kinds of touching, by pushing two buttons generally coupled with each other. Thereby the guarantee is given that the scale is divided into two fully equal parts to be taken upon by the two hands. Therefore the key-note is normally (i. e. if the player does not play in ranges) produced by actuating the forefinger of the one hand, the quinte by actuating the same linger of the other hand so that the one hand governs generally the notes from the keynote to the fourth` and the otherhand from the quinte to the octave without a movement being necessary along the key-board.

Only if a compass surpassing one octave is desired the corresponding hand is correctly posit1oned by a sliding movement along the key-board controlled by the thumb. It is only required to learn the touching of two p1tches, i. e. the pitches of the C-series (C, D, E, F sharp or G flat, G sharp or A at, A sharp or B flat) in which normally the keynote is touched with the oreinger of the right hand and the quinte with the orenger of the left hand, and the pitches of the C sharp-series (1. e C sharp or D at, D sharp or E flat, F, G, A, B natural) 1n which the keynote is touched with the forenger of the left hand, the quinte with that of the right hand. As however 1t 1s only a matter of mutual changing of the respective lingers of the right hand and the left hand, the player of the 1nstrument feels these two pitches as one pitch with respect to the touching as well as to the fingering. The touches are so natural and are so easy to touch in consequence of the distribution to both hands that by this invention the easiest learnable instrument for playing melodies 1s created. But not only melodies may be fluently played, but with some exercising also double fingering, and wlth a corresponding exercising it is even possible to play with three of four voices. Therefore the instrument is usable as an instrument for playing melodies as well as for play ing accompaniment and in a certain degree also as solo instrument, whereby its value is very increased because no other instruments of this kind exist beside the pianoforte and the accordion which are expensive.

The instrument illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 may be designated as Janko-accordion-iiute. It works with air controlling behind the reeds in the following way: The anstream flows through the blowing pipe 14 and the air channel 15 into the air chamber 16 and thence over the accordion reeds 17, 18 into the air chambers (channels) 19. If now one of the holes 21 is opened by pressing down a button 20 of the key-board the corresponding pressure reed 17 sounds and the air flows through the upper air chamber 19 and the hole 21 into the resonance-chamber 22 and escapes from there through holes on the rear end. If suction air is used the air iiows in the inverse direction and excites the corresponding suction reed 18. Therefore an equal note sounds with suction air as well as with compressed air so that the technic of blowing is very much facilitated. Two supporting ledges 23 are provided by means of which the levers 25 supported by the rods 24 are prevented from being laterally shifted. Each two buttons 20 of the C series as well as of the C sharp series of the key-board are rigidly connected with a pin 29 supported by the plates 27, 28 a sheet metal strip 26 being inserted. The pin 29 actuates the lever 25 by means of a driver 30 against the action of a pressure spring 31 thereby opening the corresponding hole closed before by means of a packing consisting of leather and being fastened on the lever and by the pressure of the spring 31. The sheets 26 are prevented from being twisted by a comb-like slitted angle 32. The parts of the instrument are encased by a casing 137 so shaped that the two thumbs may easily slide.

It does not alter the idea of the invention if instead of one sound plate 33v two sound plates are used the one of which containing all full-tones of the C series and the other all full-tones of the C sharp series.

The embodiments of Figs. and 6 ditfer from that shown in Fig. 4 essentially by the following points: Instead of one sound plate 33 (Fig. 4) two sound plates 34 and 35 are provided supporting the pressure and suction reeds and being uprightly arranged to attain a better flowing 0E of the condensing water and to prevent disturbances by the condensing water. The two pressure chambers 36, 37 extend from end to end and are connected with the mouth piece 39 by a branch T of a pipe 38.

Fig. 7 shows the principle of an embodiment working with an air controlling device arranged before the reeds in contradistinction to the embodiment described before and working with an air controlling device arranged behind the reeds. This arrangement has the advantage that the quantity of air required for charging until the reeds sound is considerably diminished, as in consequence of the arrangement of the key-board stopples 40 only the air channel 41 need to be charged but not the whole number of chambers (channels) 42, it means, only the air channel 41 need to be adjusted to the required overpressure or vacuum respectively. The sound pusher 40a is supported by the springs 41a and 42a.

Contrary to the foregoing embodiments of the inventlon 1n the embodiment according to Fig. 8 the pressure reed 43 and each of the suction reeds 44 has its own air chamber (channel) 45 and 46. Besides, all pressure chambers or channels have a common pressure channel 47 and separated therefrom all suction chambers or channels have a common suction channel 48. The pressure channel and the suction channel are connected with the mouth piece 51, check clacks 49 and 50 being inserted. Thereby the advantage of an essentially smaller consumption of air during the playing is reached as the sum of the slit losses of the non-used reeds of the played notes is dispensed with.

The embodiment according to Fig. 9 unites the ad-Y vantages of the embodiments according to Figs. 7 and 8 by using intermediate air chambers 52 corresponding to the number of reed pairs. These intermediate air chambers consist of an U-shaped chamber extending over the whole length of the instrument and being subdivided by cross walls arranged parallelly to the plane of the drawing. Here also each reed 53 `and 54 has its own chamber or channel 55 and 56. These two channels, the pressure channel of which being cut by the plane of the drawing, are connected with the intermediate air chamber S2 by a channel 57 and 58 and a check clack 59, 60. The connection of the intermediate air chamber 52 with the air channel 61 common for pressure and suction, is made (like the air controlling before the reeds) from the key-board by the key pusher 64 the plate-spring 63 the sound pusher 62 and the packing body 65. As the stroke of the keys is somewhat greater than the difference 66 the pusher slit 67 is tightened by the same packing body. Beside the small air consumption during the blowing, the free radiation of the sound and the increase of the sound intensity must be mentioned.

Fig. l0 shows a section through the sound pusher 62 the section being made above the plate-spring 63. It illustrates how the sound pusher is connected with the plate-spring by means of a small groove amounting to only some tenth of a millimeter (annular groove 68) and a spreading slot 69.

Fig. ll shows the principle of a frictionless supporting of the key pushers 70 and 71 by means or" the plate-springs 72, 73 and 74, 75, the plate-springs 73 and 75 being so strong that the required packing pressure happens besides the balancing of the weight.

The general idea of the invention may also be employed in connection with instruments on which instead of the acoustical production of sounds by means of ac cordion reeds another acoustical production of sounds or one of the known electro-mechanical (magnetical or capacitive-mechanical) or fully electrical processes is chosen. Even by the combination of the invention with the last mentioned methods for producing sounds the possibility is created to produce a highly valuable and preferably very many-sided orchestra instrument, perhaps beginning a new period of the history of the orchestra instruments. So f. i. it is thoroughly within the reach of the technical possibilities to replace most of the wind instruments by means of such key-board if the corresponding tonality is electrically chosen by a register provided near or on the instrument, while the sound intensity may be controlled by a separate device actuated by the player of the instrument f. i. by blowing with the mouth.

By way of example the Trautonium-principle may be combined with the touch-board according to Fig. 2 in the following way for the purpose to create an orchestra melody instrument playing only one note at a time.

The keys switch a resistance 76 corresponding to a cer tain initial grid tension, to a tube connection 77 producing a small change of capacity deltad corresponding to the initial grid tension. This change of capacity causes the putting out of tune of the oscillator 78 overlapping the crystal controlled oscillator 79 so that a sinus-like low frequency is produced as a difference frequency on the exit of the mixed connection 80, said low frequency corresponding to the touched keys. The low frequency is distorted by a distorting device 81 in such a way that essentially all harmonics are contained. The low frequency provided with harmonics is conducted to a great number of ilter members 82 selecting the characteristic harmonics corresponding to the tonality of the desired instruments. The sound corresponding to the desired tonalities of the instruments is attained by registers 83 comprehending the correspondent harmonics and is conducted to the loudspeaker 86 over an amplifier 84 and a forceamp1ier 85.

The fingering indicated in Fig. 2 corresponds to the standard fingering for simple cases and may be compared with the first range of the violin. Exactly in the same manner as the violin is played in ranges also the new instrument has certain other fingerings depending upon the character of the piece of music to be played and the ability of the player.

Fig. 13 shows a further embodiment working according to the principle of the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, but having the advantage that only one sound plate 87 is necessarily provided with pressure reeds and suction reeds. The chambers (channels) 88 on the right hand side are divided into pressure and suction chambers while the chamber (channel) 89 on the left hand side are common to suction and pressure reeds.

Fig. 14 illustrates another embodiment working according to the principle of the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, however a rubber diaphragm 90 is used instead of the valve 65, said diaphragm being controlled by the clack 91 operated by the pusher. The channel 92 of: Fig. 14 corresponds to the air channel 61 in Fig. 9 and the intermediate air chamber 93 corresponds to the intermediate air chamber 52 of Fig. 9.

Having thus particularly described the nature of our said invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, what we claim to have covered by Letters Patent is:

1. In a musical instrument, designed for generating sounds of different pitch within a predetermined pitch sequence, in combination, a keyboard comprising a row of manually actuable self-returning keys, each key of said keyboard being assigned to a diiferent sound and being operable upon actuation whereby selection of the generation of the generatable pitches can be accomplished, said keys being arranged in said row in accordance with said sequence, each key comprising two buttons interconnected for simultaneous actuation, and the buttons of each key being disposed on opposite sides of a dividing line extending in the direction of said row whereby the buttons on one side of said line may be played by the lingers of one hand and the buttons on the other side of said line by the lingers of the other hand, alternate keys in said row being laterally off-set from each other whereby a button of each succeeding key will project on a diierent side of said row for assigning the playing ot alternate keys of said keyboard to dierent hand preference.

2. In a musical instrument, as claimed in claim 1, said sounds and keys being arranged in chromatic scale sequence of twelve half-tones for each octave, whereby six sounds differentiated for a full tone be assigned to the keys each having one button projecting for preferred playing by one hand, and the remaining six sounds be assigned to the keys each having one button projecting for preferred playing by the other hand.

3. In a musical instrument, as claimed in claim 1, together with, each key including a bridge rigidly interconnecting the two buttons thereof for tied movement of both buttons upon actuation of either.

4. In a musical wind instrument of the block flute type having a chromatic keyboard including a series of adjoining keys, the even keys in the series forming one group and the remaining keys a second group, said groups of keys being laterally olf-set from each other, the keys within the chromatic sequence being alternately apportioned among said groups, each key being operable upon actuation and during wind application to produce a sound of predetermined pitch within said chromatic sequence, each key comprising two buttons spaced from each other about a dividing line extending centrally longitudinally of said keyboard, said buttons of each key being interconnected for simultaneous actuation, one button of each key being disposed on each side of said line, whereby, owing to the key off-setting, on either side of said line the buttons of one group of keys will project beyond the buttons of the other groups favoring the playing by the fingers of a different hand of the operator, and means including sound producing elements operable in response to the actuation of said keyboard.

5. In a musical wind instrument, as claimed in claim 4, together with, a structure defining an elongated air chamber longitudinally and parallel of said keyboard, means operable for conveying wind to said chamber, and said last named means comprising a series of reeds disposed in said chamber, one reed for each sound within said chromatic sequence, and a series of valves for the control of air in said chamber, each valve being assigned folri the control of air of a reed and being operable from a ey.

6. In a musical wind instrument, as claimed in claim 5, each key including a bridge interconnecting said buttons thereof, a transmission between each key and a valve comprising a reciprocable rod centrally connected to said bridge, a movable valve holder normally biased towards valve closure position, said rod being operable to move said holder against its bias when a button of said key is actuated for valve operation to regulate the ow of air in said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 360,255 Von Janko Mar. 29, 1887 1,571,431 Pitt-Taylor Feb. 2, 1926 1,659,414 Pitt-Taylor Feb. 14, 1928 1,689,958 Miessner Jan. 15, 1929 1,737,839 Glass Dec. 3, 1929 2,230,162 Lidblom Ian. 28, 1941 2,243,834 Bonilla June 3, 1941 2,250,522 Bonilla July 29, 1941 2,332,076 Hammond et al. Oct. 19, 1943 2,459,184 Ruino Jan. 18, 1949 2,461,806 Borel Feb. 15, 1949 2,497,661 Dome Feb. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 30,415 Netherlands Aug. 15, 1933 164,784 Austria Dec. 10, 1949 974,697 France Feb. 23, 1951 

